Ved sat down on the edge of the bed still cradling me in his arms. As if it was the most casual thing to do. He adjusted my weight making me feel comfortable in his protective embrace. My arms were still wrapped around his neck. Ved supported my weight with one of his hands while the free one flew up and tucked a few loose hair strands behind my ear. My eyes locked onto his green eyes. The red rings looked mesmerizing.

Ved's finger grazed along my jaw slowly. As if it wasn't his finger but a feather. I hated how soft and teasing his touch was. A perfect agony for making me feel unsatisfied and craving more. He traced the edge deliberately while looking directly into my eyes. There was a ghost of smile on his face. My breath hitched when he moved his finger from my jaw to my lips. He lightly traced the edges of my bottom lip, his eyes dropping on it and a low growl reverberated in his throat. I realized my lips were still swollen when he pinched it between his thumb and index finger. I winced slightly making him shift his eyes back up. He gazed into my eyes while the pressure on my lips increased gradually. The air between us thickened with each passing moment until his growled in a low voice, "Your eyes are changing colors."

They were? I shuddered when Ved leaned down and placed a warm fleeting kiss on my tormented lips. But it was gone as soon as it started making me whine with longing. I chased after him making him chuckle as he started again. "Are you ready to beg, Lunaire?"

I let out a frustrated whine then stared at him with a curious gaze. "Lunaire?"

A smirk crossed his face. His eyes twinkled as he tipped my chin up with his curled-up index finger, making our gazes fall into a straight line. "Mm, it's the French word for Moon. You're my Luna, my Moon. So, I used the word."

"You know French too?"

"I know many other things apart from knowing languages. Wanna know?" He tilted his head and kissed my forehead. I melted into a puddled.

Please. I didn't deserve all of this. They were treating me as if I was some kind of treasure. I was not. I was a murderer. I killed... I had to stop spiraling when Ved rebuked, "You are a treasure, my Luna. The wolves will cherish you for life."

My eyes widened. "You're reading my thoughts again!?" I complained.

Ved smiled gently as his fingers dipped lower, brushing down the column of my neck.

"I can't help it. I need to know what you think so that I can pleasure you more."

My face reddened as he said that. His palm curled around the side of my neck when I complained, "But Ved, you're invading my privacy."

His palm increased its pressure around my neck, just enough to remind me who I belonged to. "I own your privacy." He paused for a half a second then shamelessly added, "I should put a collar on this neck." I glared at him. Clearly, I wasn't amused by his blatant words this time. Noticing my displeasure, Ved murmured, his voice even more amused, "Make it easier to drag you back when you act like you have choices."

My stomach clenched. "Ved!" I groused.

Ved let out airy chuckle, his eyes never left mine as he removed his hand from my neck and slid the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip again, pressing down until I opened my mouth for him without a word. The way he smiled—cocky, knowing—made my insides twist with both fury and need.

"Good girl," he muttered under his breath, then leaned in. "You know I like it when you stop pretending you don't want to be pleasured." He leaned closer and said in low, dangerous whisper, "It turns me on."

I rolled my tongue around his thumb just a little before he pulled it out and ran his hand through my hair. His teeth grazed my jaw, then suddenly, bit into the flesh. It wasn't gentle at all. I gasped at the unexpected attack earning an instant growl that rumbled in his chest. One of my hands dropped and touched his chest while Ved's grip around my waist tightened like his wolf was barely holding on.

He shifted us backward, still cradling me. Then moved my smaller frame gently until my back hit the mattress. He hovered over me at the same time his hand found its way back to my neck. His palm clamped around my throat making heat run straight to my core. I reached for him, my hands grazed along his arms to his shoulder. Meanwhile his other hand slowly felt around my belly. His warmth seeped into me through the thin fabric of the red dress. We looked into each other's eyes. His wolf had taken over. His beautiful golden eyes stared into mine as if he was seeing the goddess.

"Your eyes have changed color," he groaned.

"How are they?" I wanted him to describe them. His words did things to me I didn't know was possible. Even though sometimes they annoyed me, but I still loved listening to him. His voice sometimes drops to mimic the sound of the depth of ocean. At other times, they turn velvety, laced with danger. My most favorite was when he took on the role of the weres' leader. His voice turned icy and that cuts deep to the soul.

He groaned. "Lunaire...stop thinking such way. It's getting more and more difficult to control the wolf if you think like that." The words rolled out of his mouth hitting my senses all at the right places. I closed my eyes and smiled as I felt the pressure around my neck. The wolf was losing control. Good.

Ved let out a low growl. "Open your eyes. I want to look at them."

I obliged almost instantly. I didn't have any reason not to.

My hands were still holding onto his shoulders. I urged him to come closer which he responded with choking me a little more making me gasp. I loosened my hold on him.

"Don't be impatient, Love," he drawled. He propped up supported by his free hand while the one around my neck slid down deliberately, over my chest, my waist, until it rested at my hip. His thigh shoved between my legs, forcing them apart. All this while, his eyes never left mine.

"They are silver, Lunaire," he murmured.

I already knew it. But when I heard it from him, my eyes drooped. I looked at him, wanting him to come closer and kiss them.

Ved smirked. "You sure know how to lure trouble, Love."

I bit my bottom lip and smiled lazily at him. I could feel something spiraling in my stomach while heat pooled between my legs.

Ved's nose flared. "You're such a little tease, Love," he said as he pushed his thigh up into me, making my hips twitch without meaning to. "You're already wet, and I haven't even done anything yet."

I seriously didn't know why was I so horny. Like, this was not what I would do normally. Yes, I liked the twins. I was superbly attracted to my mates...but I wouldn't really think of doing these things while we were on the verge of an interspecies war! Oh—and I almost forgot about Noraak! Come on!

My face flamed, but he didn't give me time to be embarrassed.

"You love this," he growled, lowering himself until his mouth was at my ear. "Being handled. Being spread open. Being owned." He paused giving me some time to understand what he just said. When I finally realized and opened my mouth to protest, he silenced me with a soft kiss and asked instead, "My Luna, when is your heat?"

I whined as he drew back. I wanted him more. I wanted his soft, fuller lips on mine...doing all the wonderful thing he could do with them.

"I...don't...know." I whimpered when he rolled his thigh again, grinding right into that aching spot, his smirk growing with every helpless sound I made.

He dipped and buried his mouth on my neck. "Love," he hissed, nose dragging along my neck. "You smell like heat and surrender." He groaned and nibbled into my collarbone.

My eyes fluttered closed as my arms draped around his back. I could feel his flexing muscles underneath his t-shirt.

His hand felt around on my stomach, thighs until it slipped under my dress. I moved my legs instinctively to wrap around his waist but he jerked them away. No finesse. Just need. His fingers brushed over my bare thigh, and I felt my goosebumps spreading throughout my skin under his touch. Then up—over my ribs, over the swell of my breast through my bra. With a swift motion, he freed my left breast and cupped it without mercy. I whimpered when his thumb brushed over the already hard peak.

"Is it sensitive up here?" he said, amusement dripping from his voice. "Bet if I suck on them, you'll moan so loud the whole damn pack will know what exactly we're doing."

"Ved," I breathed, feeling completely exposed under his ravenous gaze even when I was still completely covered by the red dress.

He didn't wait.

He rolled my left nipple and circled around it making me hyperventilate already. I didn't get much time to adjust to the sensation when his pinched the hardened bud earning a sharp intake of air from me.

He chuckled. "Pure sin!" He removed his hand from my breast leaving an empty feeling behind. The imbalance of the sensation was driving me insane. My left nipple was stinging from the mild burn while my right nipple was untouched, aching in need for his attention.

I complained with a whimper. "Ved...please."

"You liked it?" he groaned. His hand now trailed down and stopped at the waistband of my underwear. "By the time I'm done with you, you're gonna look like mine in every damn way."

I was panting. Squirming. His thigh still between mine, teasing, pressing, controlling.

Then he pulled back just to roll on his side so that he could get better access to my lower body. His free hand tugged on the waistband.

"You're going to let me play with you," Ved said in a demanding voice. "And you're going to lie there, spread open for me like you should. You understand me, Lunaire?"

I couldn't answer. Not with words. Not with the way my body trembled under him.

But that didn't matter.

Because Ved was already dragging my underwear down.

I tried to pull my hands down instinctively, but was soon got restricted by his other hand. He grabbed a hold of them together and put them above my head, locking them in place. I complained with a moan.

"Sshh! We're just getting started, Love. Lay still." His hand pulled my underwear down my legs and it left my body in a single blink. I wiggled my legs as they tried to close themselves on their own. But Ved's hand landed on my inner thigh in a firm smack causing a yelp out of me. "Be still," he commanded.

And I bit my bottom lip hard.

I was a hyperventilating mess, going insane.

His finger slid closer to the very core of me. Heat pooled between my legs as he massaged just the inner thighs, not touching exactly where I wanted him to. I bit my lip again trying not to make another sound. Ved took a quick glance on my face, a smirk adorning his face before his eyes landed right between my thighs.

I heard his audible breathing.

The wolf inhaling like a starving beast at the scent of his mate.

My eyes darted toward his face...and widened in alarm.

It wasn't Ved anymore. It was his wolf. Black veins protruded in his throat, shadowed by his inhuman alter ego. His skin turned rougher, textured, more like the color of his wolf. His canines had elongated out of his mouth. He hadn't fully shifted, but the wolf had almost taken over. It wasn't caged anymore. Ved looked ferocious, his wolf barely holding on.

And his eyes—those damn golden eyes.

They glowed hungrily, not just with lust but with territorial madness.

My inside wavered for a beat. I understood what that gleam meant. It was pure Alpha possession. It only knew how to dominate, and would tear down anyone who dared challenge it.

Including me, if I tried to deny him now.

Not that I would.

"You smell divine," he growled lowly. I flinched. His voice wasn't fully his anymore. It had a guttural edge. Deeper. Rougher. It was the first time I was listening to his wolf. And I wouldn't lie. It scared me slightly.

His golden eyes were trained on between my legs unwaveringly, where I laid spread open and bare before his eyes. I heard a throaty vibration rumbling in his throat just before he groaned. "You want my fingers here?" He let one finger trail just barely over my entrance, not breaching, not giving. Just gliding, spreading the slickness across my folds like he was painting with it.

I jolted.

He chuckled.

"You're so deliciously wet, Lunaire. And I haven't even touched you properly yet."

I whimpered. It was true. He hadn't even touched where I needed him the most and I was already trembling like a prey in hunter's grasp. Was it because of my upcoming heat? But I didn't even know what the hell was even that! I felt little embarrassed but he didn't give me enough time to linger on that feeling.

His breathing had now turned into rougher panting.

"My wolf wants to devour you right now, Lunaire?" he rasped, dragging the backs of his fingers along the inside of my thighs. "Should I give it to him?" He leaned down, brushing his lips against my neck. But he didn't kiss me. He inhaled an audible shaky breath. "You're dripping, Lunaire. Dripping like you want to serve the wolf."

I squirmed, tried to close my legs again from instinct—but a snarl tore from his throat freezing me. It wasn't loud or violent. Much like a possessive warning. It sliced straight through my core.

"Don't." The wolf was furious with something. I sensed he didn't like what I just did.

I waited apprehensively. I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't particularly afraid of him, but I sure was confused and worried. The wolf added slowly, "Do. Not. Hide. From. Me." His hand landed on my inner thigh again, spreading me even wider as he stared down like he was actually going to devour me whole. "You don't get to close this. Not when this is pleasing the wolf immensely."

Incredulously so, I whimpered at the intensity of his words. And to make it more torturous, his pheromones suddenly hit my nostrils. I jerked as my back arched—as if trying to meet his hand more. I could feel myself leaking just from his mere pheromones.

He smirked, looking pleased.

His grip on my wrists above tightened as he pulled back from my body. "My Luna..." he moaned.

His fingers moved again between my folds again. Still light. Still teasing. He parted my lips with two fingers, then leaned down and blew softly against the wetness. I gasped, spine arching, hands still locked above my head where he'd pinned them. I whined, more so because I was unable to close my legs.

"You're so needy." His fingers circled the bundle of nerves without applying pressure, maddeningly soft. He pressed a single kiss on my inner thigh, still teasing the wet warmth. I was past embarrassment. The sounds I was making at this point were alien to my ears. Then all of a sudden, Ved bit down the flesh of my left thigh. It was sharp. I shrieked at the sudden pain while he licked over the mark numbing the sting.

"What did you just do, Ved?" I bellowed, clearly annoyed.

Ved licked the wound a few more times before kissing it deliberately before answering in his wild, guttural voice, "You don't even know what you're doing to me. My wolf's howling for you. It wants to make a mess of you, Love." His voice broke mid-sentence, turning more animalistic. "So, you're just gonna stay still." Another command. Guttural. Obsessive. Wild. "You'll take everything I give you now. Won't you, Lunaire?"

My mouth opened to speak, but I couldn't. Because his next actions made me lose all my logical senses.

His mouth moved closer. Nose brushing against my folds. The inhale that followed wasn't human. A low groan vibrated in his chest. "Drenched and twitching for me like my good little mate, aren't you?"

And then his mouth was on me.

Everything exploded.

He gave my aching dripping need a slow long lick. My eyes widened as my hips jerked.

"Mmm, sweet. As I expected."

My eyes rolled back in ecstasy as he gave my hot mess another lick. His warm tongue and intoxicating pheromones made it beyond tormenting. He rolled his tongue around my now throbbing nub and I moaned his name loudly.

He growled. I sensed his wolf was extremely pleased.

His tongue was hot, claiming...relentless. He moaned deep into me as his tongue dragged through my folds, slow at first, savoring. Then faster. Rougher. Messier. The wolf tasted his mate for the first time and it was ecstatic.

My legs shook. My hands strained under his hold as he pinned me down. I panted his name several times in order to make him slow down. But the wolf didn't care. He didn't stop.

"Ved!" I cried out again—louder this time—and he only growled harder, lips latching onto my clit with devastating precision.

I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Ved...Ved..."

He groaned and with one final lick from his tongue, I exploded into his mouth. He lapped onto my juiced as if it was some nectar. For a few seconds, my whole body shook as I took time to come down from my high.

But when I finally came, Ved was looking down at me with another hungry look on his face. His golden eyes gleamed as he licked his bottom lip and waited for me to speak.

"That...was..." I started but he silenced me with a soft kiss. I tasted myself on his lips. He pulled back shortly making me chase after him. He chuckled at my eagerness when I realized my hands were still locked in place. He hadn't released me yet. I gave them a tug only for him to tighten his hold around them.

"We aren't done, Love."

I gasped. "We aren't?"

"Not even close." He smiled. His canines were still protruding out of his mouth. "I'm barely holding my hardness."

My eyes dropped and instantly widened. It wouldn't fit.

Ved let out a guttural chuckle. "This is not for tonight. Tomorrow, after the ritual, you'll get to see if it'll fit."

My ears turned hot. I exclaimed in embarrassment, "Ved!! Stop reading my mind!!"

He chuckled. Then pulled back. My eyes followed his movements as he settled beside me in half sitting position and let go of my hands. I immediately brought my hands and rubbed the wrists. But he didn't give me much time to recover as he pushed his one finger into my slickness slowly. My mouth fell open, eyes rolled back, another needy moan slipped out against my will.

"It'll definitely fit, don't worry," he assured. "In fact, in future, if you'll just try...you can fit two." As soon as he said that, another finger joined, stretching me, filling me slowly.

I jerked. "What?... What did you mean by that?" I panted as one of my hands found its way to clutch a handful of the fabric of his t-shirt's arm.

Ved didn't answer. Only his fingers jutted in and out of me in a rhythmic motion. I gasped while his thumb finally gave attention to my clit, pressing just enough to send lightning through my body.

His eyes were trained on my core, but then shifted his hungry gaze on my face. "Eyes on me, Lunaire," he commanded. "You watch your Alpha while he worships you."

I writhed against his fingers. "Ved—!" My eyes never strayed from him while he worked his fingers with deliberate precision. His free hand suddenly cupped my right breast and found my nipple under the fabric. I was now frustrated of the fabric. It felt like an obstacle...which technically was true.

Ved played with my right nipple, turning it into a sensitive hard bud. Our eyes were still locked. His darker skin darkened even more. I could almost make out the thin film of black fur covering his skin now. He looked grisly. My inside quivered slightly at his rapidly changing form. "Who's touching you?" he growled, the golden flare in his eyes pulsing. "Say it."

"You—" I choked.

He stopped moving completely. I squirmed.

"Not good enough."

"Ved. You. You're touching me."

"Wrong again."

The fingers curled inside me just enough to make my back arch off the bed.

"Try again, Lunaire. Who's touching you?"

"...My Alpha. My Mate."

Ved's chest rumbled. His wolf purred in approval.

"Good girl."

He leaned down and dragged his tongue over my lower stomach, slow and possessive, before locking eyes with me. "Now lay still and take what your mate gives you. I'm not done."

Then I understood what he meant by that. His fingers—God. It felt like they were doing some kind of ritual, which probably was true. To him. To the wolves. They moved between my legs rapidly. Rubbing, pressing, circling that swollen little nerve with obsessive precision. The wolf was claiming what was his.

My eyes rolled back, one of my hands clutching his t-shirt while the other one clutching the bed sheet. His free hand, flat on my chest, pinned me down, while the other one kept me spread open. His thumb toyed with me in brutal, delicious patterns. My legs jerked, hips bucking—but his control was iron. Unmoving.

A growl rumbled from his chest as his wolf surged closer to the surface. His canines lengthened. His grip turned primal.

"You smell so good, my Luna," he snarled low, voice distorted—half Ved, half beast. "You drip for me...for your Alpha. Don't you, My Luna?"

His fingers pushed deeper, slower this time, torturing me with every drag.

"Say it," he hissed, leaning in to press his nose against my neck. "Say you're my Luna. Say it while you fall apart on my hand."

"Yes...I'm your Luna," I moaned.

He groaned as he thrust his fingers deep into me one last time. It sent me over the edge and I saw stars. I came undone on his hands all over again. It went on for a small eternity until I came down from my high, feeling completely spent.

When I finally opened my eyes, a pair of beautiful green eyes stared down on me. A soft smile welcomed me back. It was my Mate. My Alpha. My Beast.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Worshipped," I whispered.

Ved's lips tilted up, satisfied by my answer. As a reward, he leaned down and placed a kiss between my brows. "Good. You deserve to be worshipped." He removed a stray hair from my forehead before getting up and removing his t-shirt.

I looked at him lazily when he climbed out of the bed and started unbuttoning his pants.

"Get some rest. I'll take a cold shower and..." he paused briefly before adding with a groan, "take care of something else."

I frowned slightly at his words, before the realization crossed my face.

"Why not now?"

"The ritual is incomplete," he responded evenly. Back to his usual calm self. "Tomorrow night is the right time. You can't handle it today."

I gulped, not fully understanding his words. But I knew, he wouldn't give me something I couldn't withstand. So, I just nodded.

When he discarded his pants standing only in his boxer briefs, I sat up and adjusted my dress. My eyes searched the bed, but I didn't locate my underwear. Then, all of a sudden, I stiffened.

My eyes scanned the room. The door was closed, and there was no one else in the room apart from us. Anxiety sparked through me. "Wait..." I muttered, heart hammering. "Where's Veer?"

Ved turned, his eyes raking down my body like he was still deciding if he'd let me leave this bed at all. The look in his eyes was pure chaos it made me clench my thighs together—the small action didn't miss his eyes.

He smirked, then with a subtle tilt of his head toward a door tucked in the far corner of the room, he said, "Other side." His voice was low, unbothered. "That's the door connecting our rooms." His lips curled just slightly. "You can go to him... if you still remember how to walk."

"Shut up." I climbed out of the bed, terribly aware of the mess between my legs. I winced slightly as I took a step toward the connecting door.

Ved turned toward the bathroom door just beside the bookshelf. Of course I didn't notice the doors before. Who would even notice them when the interior was this dark?

"Be careful," Ved quietly said before opening the door of the bathroom and got inside.

I hesitated looking between the two doors. One of them had Ved behind it, one of them had Veer. I bit my bottom lip. Why did Ved warn me? I looked at the common door, biting my lips, contemplating. The ache between my legs never went away but when I thought of Veer's words outside, my mind spiraled. What's his story with...Rhea? Not that it mattered to me. But I sure as hell understood I couldn't take that she-wolf lightly.

So, I took a deep breath and reached for the door knob.

..

Author's note: The chapter is not complete yet. Wait for part 2. XD It'll be dirtier. lol